Tuesday, 14 August 2018

I don't know if my oldest trailcam needs fresh batteries, but the meadow trailcam, ripped apart by the bear, is working well! Junior Bear has broken the rings that the straps hang onto.
Of course, Hooper....

Garlic Festival

We had our annual garlic festival.
We've been several times. Hubby popped in, I stayed home and held down the fort. We don't really use enough of it to buy a braid. It tends to go mouldy.

Around the World

I'm still watching the kids vicariously, with a woozy tummy. I think it is a virus, who knows... Thank you, all, for your well-wishes.

I had a brief on-line chat with both my daughter and Josee. It was fun!

We've had two postcards. One, with a Masai warrior from Tanzania. The next one arrived (much more quickly) from Paris, France!
Yesterday they headed from Bangkok, Thailand airport (BKK) => Toyko, Japan (NRT). I watched the flight!

Prior to their flight, for the 9 hours they were in Bangkok, they visited the reclining Budha. That took 3 1/2 hours! Here is a model. You can see the feet beside Josee.

It was fun chatting with Josee. She wondered what time it was here in Ontario! It was 8 a.m., at the time. She was in Bangkok, and it was 9 p.m.

Around the world in 5 weeks

To report on the kids: they were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The time difference is 6 hours, and they've already gone on to Thailand. They spend 7 hours there, and then, on to Tokyo!
Five weeks on the move. This is all the luggage they took! They are having so much fun.

Their smart phones can video in slow motion. I was needing something to keep me amused, so I reversed the video. These are our girls, on the roof swimming pool, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, 12 August 2018

It started off a normal day. Hangry, then sleepy cats... This boy can sleep!

I'm still wrestling with some health stuff, thank you for your kind words. I cooked up some fajitas with our leftover steak. They were messy but good. Hubby, ever the shopper, brought home some roses and rented me a movie, as he's been addicted to tennis!

I did Facetime with my son in Vancouver (-3 hour time difference), just home from two-weeks capling with his family. And Facetime with my daughter when they were in Singapore (6+ hours time difference). It's tricky!!! It's wonderful to talk to them.

The day started out quietly, which is just the way I like it. I've been checking the goldfish pond, as I've spotted a garter snake. I watched it all day, and it doesn't seem inclined to go IN the water. The 23 froggies seem OK for now. More on snakey tomorrow!

Out in the backyard I heard the goldfinches raising a ruckus. Here is why! Bob'll-know, of Gilligalou, tells me it's a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. That's what JB calls him. Bob always knows his birds!

it would appear to be a classic example of a juvenile Coopers Hawk. Mostly because of the chest streaks which fade away towards the belly, the tail feather appear to be fan like or gradual in length?, hard to see? Also if you look at the side of the head/neck , it has the tawny wash look, the sharpe shin would be brownish flowing into the shoulder as the same colour. :), thanks for sharing

The photos were tricky, with the dark background. The videocamera seemed to do a better job with the colour. Anyway, it is evidence!

It sat there for a long time. I have a full minute of video, but it took too long to load and I don't want to bore you! It moved to a second tree, then leapt into the air, flew overhead twice, and took off for the day.Ronnie is back from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And the kids...

They are taking a 5-week trip, on reward points. I'm having a blast curating photos for the book I'm making for them. Old dog, newish tricks. You know, in the old days we'd create photo albums, but that is time consuming for a busy family. They are all taking turns on their blog, posting thoughts and commentaries and videos. It's fun seeing them in action. I've organized the photos electronically, then upload them into a photobook. It's creative and fun and I enjoy it.

Monarchs

Acrea Moth, Estigmene acrea

<= this is a photo from Wikipedia. I was curious, after someone ID'd the caterpillar for me. There are a great many people who know these things!

And a new one for me. It's a white moth, as an adult, with black spots and an underwing. I'm going to try watch it morph. It's in my aquarium. Eating and pooping!

And the kids...

They are taking a 5-week trip on reward points from Ottawa to Chicago, then overseas to Turkey, Ethiopia, on safari in Tanzania, then a week in Paris, quick flight to Zurich, a half day in Singapore, and now Kuala Lumpur! These photos, the first is leaving Singapore. The last photo, Kuala Lumpur!